


mystery incorporated (but not for real!)

by pierpressure



Series: ZKDrabbleDecember2020 [10]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Bending (Avatar TV), F/F, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Halloween Costumes, Multi, Secret Relationship, asian glow! zuko, boys night out gone wrong, jet is a frat boy, sokka is unintentionally wang fire: private investigator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:14:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28149663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pierpressure/pseuds/pierpressure
Summary: A frat house Halloween party. Two (mostly) well thought-out group costumes and Toph ready to dominate in beer pong (although no one knows how). The prize for the costume contest almost in sight. The whole night should be a rager for Katara.What gets in the way? Sokka's unintentional detective skills and bad door locks.The detective skills don't stop there.Day 18: ObviousDay 27: Don't Worry
Relationships: Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Series: ZKDrabbleDecember2020 [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2037616
Comments: 20
Kudos: 81
Collections: ZK Drabble December 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 1: Obvious

"Jeepers," Katara exclaimed, swinging around a telephone pole as her green scarf flapped with the motion. The curve-hugging violet mini-dress paired with a matching headband and jelly high heels made it obvious she was dressed up as Daphne.

Still, Katara had gone the extra mile of curling a synthetic red wig so that it bellowed all around her, getting stuck in her sticky clear lipgloss circa 2002. Her costume was a 10/10. Although she had likely put the most effort into her costume out of anyone here, Katara thought they had a good chance of winning, as a whole. 

There was a lot at stake here: the championship in a frat house Halloween costume party.

Ty Lee panned the camera towards Aang, who popped his head out from under a car, dog ears and brown ensemble with a texture resembling a shag carpet from 1976 denoting him as the titular character Scooby-Doo. He'd borrowed the furry brown monstrosity of a suit from his uncle Gyatso, but it was pretty well-suited for dressing up like a dog. 8/10

"Ruh-roh!" he gulped, rolling back under the hood of the car.

The camera then found it's way to Sokka, who leaned against said car, casually eating a sandwich before yelling, "Zoinks!"

Her brother's brown basketball shorts were a part of his usual ensemble, but his lime green crop top and drawn-on goatee were hilarious, even Katara had to admit. However, it was clear to Katara that Sokka had forgotten they were doing this until Suki called him earlier that day and scrambled to put this together. 5/10

"Jinkies!" Suki called out as she jumped up from behind a bush, whipping off her Velma-eque fake glasses Superman-style with a sweep of her bobbed hair. Suki posed in a matching crop top to Sokka's, but in bright orange, with a matching mini-skirt. Although it was made up of items all previously in her closet, Suki had prepared them in advance and looked convincing. 9/10.

Ty Lee finally turned the lens to Zuko, who wore dark denim jeans, a white long-sleeved shirt with blue construction paper taped onto the collar, and a short, bright orange tie. He looked straight at the camera with smoldering intensity and deadpanned, "Fuck."

It was clear to Katara that Zuko had remembered their agreement to do a coordinated costume and still _chosen_ to put the very bare minimum of effort into it. He had left her reminder texts on read instead of having dropped his phone in the toilet and having to soak it in rice as Sokka had. It was purposeful and hilarious and Katara hated it. Still, his delivery of the fuck was a masterpiece of comedic timing, and points were awarded for that. 4/10. (+2 of which was solely due to that magnificent "Fuck.")

"And cut. That's a wrap on the sixth take. I think we got it," Ty Lee announced to them, handing Suki her glittery phone case.

"Finally, I thought you guys were doomed to fail and never rise from the ashes of your humiliation," Azula taunted, admiring her ruby red acrylic nails. She, her girlfriend Ty Lee, and Mai were dressed up as a more mature rendition of The Powerpuff Girls, looking like they'd walked straight out of Harajuku, Japan. Azula was Blossom, with a tight and shiny red dress that stopped mid-thigh and a pair of uselessly small pink-tined sunglasses garnishing a shockingly high ponytail she managed to make work. Ty Lee was Bubbles, wearing a blue latex bralette and booty-shorts with her hair in pigtails and eyes accentuated with ice-blue eyeshadow. Mai was the spitting image of Buttercup in an olive green mini-romper, her hair in a blunt bob, with green lipstick only she could pull off. With their color-coordinated outfits and makeup, Katara was sure they would be the greatest competition in the group costume category. Largely because every weeb in the room would ruin their pants the second the girls walked in.

"For the record, I thought you all looked great!" Toph joked from beneath her usual costume, a sheet with no holes cut out of it.

"It doesn't matter. Let's get to the party before everyone drinks the good stuff," Mai sighed.

"I still don't understand why Zuko gets to be the one who says 'Fuck'," Sokka whined.

"Really, Sokka? Isn't it obvious? Shaggy is the dooby-smoking, food-loving, sarcasm guy. Who does that sound like?" Katara mocked him with a grin.

"Hey! These costumes aren't accurate, Katara. If they were, then that would mean Aang's a furry!" Sokka protested.

"I would like to clarify that while Sokka is definitely Shaggy, I am not a furry. I nixed the collar from this costume to avoid that very thing," Aang interjected, causing everyone to burst out laughing.

Katara stuck her tongue out. "That sandwich was a foot-long on the first take and now it's a six-inch, Sokka. Do I need any more proof?" 

Suki, Aang, and Toph continue to giggle as Sokka stood, dumbfounded with his half-eaten sandwich in hand.

"You want to date your sister instead of me, Sokka?" Suki teased before adding, "And I mean me and you, not Shaggy and Velma. Velma's a femme lesbian, for sure."

"She is," Ty Lee confirmed in a cheery voice, looping an arm around Azula's waist.

"Pff. Well, it's not like Zuko's dating Katara! But you're right, that would be weird," Sokka admitted.

Zuko and Katara both flushed a bright shade of crimson before Azula chimed in, "I don't know, they're both incredible dorks. It could work."

"Azula," Zuko protested, rolling his eyes at his little sister.

"What? It's true. Anyway, Mai's right. We do need to get going because Jet's an asshole who won't let us in late."

This was all the motivation the group needed, as they were soon marching down the street to the infamous frat house nicknamed "The Treehouse". This was due to many infamous incidents of the fire department having to be called to rescue drunk college students hanging from their underpants out of the oak tree in the backyard.

Luckily, the gang was early enough that they were all let in without any complaints, and before long, Katara was sauntering around with a red solo cup of mystery juice. The rest of her friends had panned out towards the bar (Toph, Azula, and Mai), dance floor (Ty Lee and Aang), or upstairs to the empty bedrooms (Sokka and Suki).

Aware of the watchful eyes belonging to frat boys that traced her figure, Katara restlessly counted out the ten minutes before heading to the bathroom. At one point, she had to artfully dodge Jet, the frattiest of frat boys, as he prowled the party looking for a hook-up. No, Katara would not be making that mistake again. She had learned her lesson.

Slinking down the hall, she tapped the simple, three-knock code into the door, gliding in as it unlocked. Once inside, Zuko smirked devilishly at Katara before pulling her into him and engulfing her in a passionate kiss.

"Spirits, you look fucking hot in this thing," he grunted out, hiking her up onto the bathroom sink as she wrapped her legs around his waist, high-heels digging into him.

"You like it?" Katara batted her eyelashes, causing him to crash into her, exploring her mouth with reckless abandon.

"Yeah," he rasped in a low voice, "I do."

"You're an asshole, you know that? For not dressing up," Katara announced breathlessly as he started to hike her dress up.

Before he could respond, the bathroom door flung was open by Sokka, camera in hand, giving a virtual house tour to post on his Instagram later (as he usually did when visiting frat houses to document what he was stealing). Eyes wide as if he was watching someone be picked apart by cultures, his mouth gaped to the floor, screaming, "GAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

All of the sneaking around and secrecy had been for nothing. Despite the great lengths taken to make sure everything between Katara and Zuko wasn't obvious, her brother had caught them in the act. Turns out, Sokka _did_ have a little too much in common with his _Mystery Inc_. counterpart.

It was Katara's turn to say it. "Fuck."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, this is 100% based on that tiktok because i could totally see the gaang doing it (with the addition of aang as scooby; he would totally be down) 
> 
> i always love writing azula and zuko as a love-hate but generally loving sibling relationship, which i don't get to do very often (unfortunately). so this was a huge treat to write. (and tyzula's always cute to incorporate)
> 
> i've been producing nothing but modern aus in the past few days, which is worrisome. i fear i may grow too attached to casually using the word fuck in dialogue, but oh well! i'm sure it'll be fine.
> 
> thanks for liking, commenting, and kudosing! it means a ton to me!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 27: Don't Worry
> 
> the return of detective wang fire!

Sokka had no clue how, but he woke up to an unmistakable crick in his neck, likely due to the fact he was currently in a kitchen sink. Well, most of him were in the kitchen sink. His legs and arms stuck out onto the counter, but he was definitely sitting on top of dirty dishes. As the groggy haze of sleep faded slightly to be replaced by a pounding headache, he became aware that there were more unconscious bodies littered around his apartment. 

Excavating himself from his folded position on the kitchen island, Sokka managed to stumble to the ground having only accidentally sprayed himself with the faucet once. As he rested his head against the countertop and groaned loudly, the other remnants of the night before’s partying started to stir as well.

“Where am I?” Haru muttered sleepily, keeping his eyes shut tight as he flipped right-side-up from where he was sprawled backward on a bean bag. “What the hell happened last night?”

“My place and no clue,” Sokka shot back, starting to rifle through the kitchen cabinets for aspirin.

“Spirits, my head’s killing me,” Jet whined from his prone position across two very uncomfortable stools that Sokka had found on the side of the street when he moved in. 

“Where did you come from, Jet? You didn’t go out with us last night,” Sokka muttered, the confused and very stiff gears starting to turn within his head.

“You all need to shut up,” Teo groaned from the futon that lay snapped in half on the floor. The same futon that had been intact before they left last night. Suki was going to kill Sokka. 

Aang grabbed a popcorn bowl from on top of the couch and, naturally, hurled into it. Sokka ducked back down and continued his search for the fabled headache relief somewhere within the kitchen.

“Oh, gross, man,” Haru grimaced, turning his head away.

“I wasn’t even going to go out last night! I blame peer pressure,” Aang croaked weakly after his stomach was emptied.

Finally locating the magical substance beloved by hungover fold everywhere, Sokka whooped, immediately regretting it as his stomach started to churn. Spilling a couple of the white tablets for himself, he returned his head to its rightful place in the sink and swallowed them before chucking the bottle into Jet’s waiting hands.

After wiping his wet head with a fallen dishtowel, Sokka surveyed the game of pass-the-pills unfolding before him, counting with his fingers. “W-wait, guys. Where’s Zuko?”

The eyes of the room all widened in confusion as the others shot glances across the room and came to the same conclusion: Zuko was missing.

“Oh, no. Did he drown in the toilet or something?” Teo wondered as Sokka bounded towards the adjacent bathroom, throwing the door open only to find it empty. 

Above the screeching noise of the shower curtain, as he pulled it back, Sokka called out, “Nope, he’s not here.”

“Bedroom’s clear too,” Aang confirmed with a grim look.

“Oh fuck. If I have to tell my little sister I lost her boyfriend, I’m done for,” Sokka lamented, facepalming with the force of one thousand idiots.

“Wait, let’s check out phones. Maybe we took pictures last night?” Haru suggested with a shrug.

“I doubt it. We haven’t been this wasted since that disastrous Halloween party where you saw Zuko and Katara-” Aang started before Sokka cut him off with a yelp.

“No, we’re not going to talk about that! It’s already burned into my brain for all eternity; I don’t need any more reminders!”

Sokka’s dramatic outburst didn’t impede his ability to rifle through his phone, where he was immediately bombarded with evidence of the shenanigans that had gotten them into this situation. Unceremoniously grabbing his beautiful (although Katara mocked it endlessly) hat, Sokka announced, “Don’t worry, we _will_ find him. This looks like a job for Detective Wang Fire!”

“Not this again!” Aang groaned as Sokka snatched his phone and started to leaf through his camera roll as well.

“Never fear, Wang Fire is here! And if my detective work is correct, it looks like Zuko was with us when we got to the bar,” Sokka announced as he ignored Aang's comment, holding up a group picture in which Zuko was toasting a glass of beer with everyone, “but split sometime after I got thrown off the mechanical bull. After that, he vanishes.”

The whole group snickered at the image on Aang’s screen depicting Sokka’s failure in all of its glory. “Hey, this is serious. Don’t laugh. That means that Zuko never got home with us. For all we know, he could’ve gotten lost or hurt!”

“Uh, Sokka. Isn’t Zuko a black belt in taekwondo? Wouldn’t he at least be able to fend for himself to some degree?” Aang interjected.

“Regular Zuko may be a martial arts master, but Drunk Zuko isn’t a black belt. He’s a big ‘ole lightweight,” Sokka said ominously.

“Our mans does suffer from Asian Glow,” Haru confirmed with a solemn nod.

“Alright, we should start from the beginning. Make our way back to the bar and check in the dumpster and all the nearby ditches he could be passed out,” Sokka commanded, an air of ridiculous authority being obeyed with rolled eyes by all of the other boys.

Teo, now settled back into his wheelchair, quirked up an eyebrow, but remained silent. Agreement seemed to permeate the apartment that following Sokka was the best option to find the missing Zuko.

“And if you want to keep your balls attached to your body, above all, do not let Katara know, got it?” Sokka announced to the group of guys trailing him as he opened the front door of his apartment.

Sokka’s jaw dropped to the floor as he stepped into the hallway due to the sight before him. A sweatpants-clad Katara with a mug of coffee in her hand was kissing Zuko, who was wearing a matching set of pink pajamas covered in baby rabbits that were several sizes too small for him. It didn’t take a genius like Detective Wang Fire to figure out they didn’t belong to him.

Catching sight of the band of guys lined up at the door watching them, Zuko broke away from kissing his sister with a grin, as if flaunting his lack of a visible hangover. The dumb bastard had probably called Katara the second they started doing whiskey shots and had her tuck him into bed last night. Then he said the nonchalant words that broke Sokka's brain. 

“Oh, hey, guys. I was just about to check in on you after last night. How's it going?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> asian glow is the funniest thing ever change my mind. like, watching my brother have an allergic reaction every time he got quarantine drunk was the highlight of my year. so yes, zuko has asian glow. change my mind.


End file.
